12 days of PR: Event Review – CPRS/IABC Holiday Social

The Holiday season is clearly well upon us. In case anyone was feeling skeptic, the inches of snow now covering the Ottawa Valley are a sure sign of a white Christmas. With the season well under way, all traditions are starting to unfold and one of the most important parts of this time of year has come into full swing. Carols? -No. Presents? -Not Yet… Give up? It’s PARTIES!

Holiday parties are my personal favorite part of this time of the year, and there’s no better way to spend your time than with the best and brightest communicators in Canada’s capital. The well known International Association of Business Communicators, a.k.a. IABC, and one of our national prides, CPRS, the Canadian Public Relations Society, teamed up once again for the annual #CPRSIABCSocial.

The event took place on Wednesday, December 3rd, and the list of attendees included professional members from across the city involved in industries such as public relations, communications, and marketing. Many students were in attendance, working the crowd and looking for opportunities to practice their networking skills.

The joint social was held at the Heart&Crown pub in the Byward Market. Centrally located, it’s the perfect place to host a networking holiday event. The entire staff working with our party provided an amazing service and, in a true Irish fashion, they kept our glasses full all night long. The Eventbrite promised light hors d’oeuvres, as well as chicken fingers, nachos and fried pickles; these are just a few of the delicious highlights from the huge buffet of the night.

Everyone who had pre-registered for the event had a personalized name tag ready which made networking much easier. As the mixing and mingling started, the well-known chatter of an amazing party and an effective networking event combined to fill the room.

Like any situation involving those of us in communications, marketing and public relations, smart phones were constantly out as everyone took pictures, exchanged info, and live-tweeted about the event. A special shout out has to go to volunteers Kayla Isabelle, Steph Rochefort and John Lin for setting up and keeping the hilarious photo booth running all night long. It was hands-down, the most entertaining part of the night as almost everyone there got their photo taken with the fun props, adding the perfect spark to the atmosphere! The party went well past the scheduled end time of 7:30 as some of us were there past 9:00 p.m., keeping the holiday spirit alive.

The holidays are the perfect time to get into networking if you’re feeling a little intimidated. The holiday social was designed for professionals and students to meet lots of new people in a casual and relaxed way. This works exceptionally well by taking the pressure off and before you know it, the casual chat you just had can turn into a huge asset in your own personal or professional network down the road. In case you missed the event this year, there’s always next year! In the meantime, keep up with friends of the uOPRA family CPRS and IABC all year long. Happy Holidays!